


Agent of Chaos

by Ruuger



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV), The Mentalist
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:33:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28175457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruuger/pseuds/Ruuger
Summary: Hotch decides to borrow a consultant from FBI's Austin office.
Kudos: 32





	Agent of Chaos

"You must be Agent Cho," Hotch said, extending his hand. Cho's handshake was brief but firm, very much what Hotch had expected based on his file.

"Yes," Cho said, his expression neutral. "We can talk in my office."

When they entered the office, Cho sat down behind his desk, and then said nothing. Hoch had expected him to be curious about why BAU had contacted the Austin office, so there was an awkward silence until Hotch realised that Cho expected him to just get straight into it.

"I understand you used to work with Patrick Jane?" It was a rhetorical question, but Cho did not even nod as a reply. "The BAU is currently investigating an unsub whose MO is very similar to that of Red John, and since Mr. Jane's expertise on the killer is unrivalled, we'd like to enroll his help as a consultant."

Cho was quiet for a long time, his expression unreadable, before he finally spoke. "He's retired."

"Yes, that was my understanding, but I was hoping that you might be able to persuade him to come back to help us with the case."

Cho crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. "No."

The bluntness of the answer took Hotch by surprise, and he had to take a few seconds to collect himself. "I'm sorry?"

"You don't know Jane, because if you did, you wouldn't be asking him to come back to the FBI. What he'll do is he'll solve the case for you but while doing it, he'll break every rule and regulation you can throw at him, and he'll drive your team insane. Trust me when I say that you don't want him as a consultant."

Hotch had expected some resistance - there had always been a strong rivalry between the different sections of the FBI - but he hadn't expected Cho to point blank refuse to cooperate with BAU. He had to struggle to keep his voice calm. "I think that's my decision to make, Agent Cho. I have a reason to believe that Patrick Jane would be a valuable asset for this case, and I'm well aware of his reputation. I have the best team in the FBI, and I'm certain that we'll be able to handle him. I went through you because you've worked with him before, but only out of courtesy."

Cho's expression remained unchanged. He was quiet for a few more seconds before he stood up and walked to the door of his office. For a moment Hotch thought that he was going to ask him to leave, but instead Cho just leaned out of the door and called out.

"Lisbon, could you come in here for a moment?"

Hotch recognised the woman who entered from the reports he'd read about Patrick Jane. She had been Jane's handler first at the CBI and then at the FBI, and according to her files, she'd then later married him. A clear case of transference, if Hotch had ever seen one, probably due to her father's suicide. 

"Agent Hotchner, this is Agent Teresa Lisbon. Lisbon, this is Agent Hotchner from the BAU. He wants to talk to Jane."

Lisbon's hand froze midway to shake Hotch's, and she turned to look at Cho, a slight look of panic on her face.

"Why? What has he done?"

There was something about the tone of her voice that raised alarm bells at the back of Hotch's mind, but he ignored them. He'd worked with Reid for nearly ten years, so how much more difficult could Patrick Jane be?

"Agent Lisbon, we're currently working on a case involving an unsub who might be a Red John copycat, and since Mr. Jane was instrumental in catching Red John, the San Joaquin Killer and Lazarus, I believe he could be a valuable asset to our team."

Cho turned to Lisbon. "What do you think? Would he do it?"

Lisbon sighed. "I think he is getting bored. Did I tell you that he joined the PTA?"

Cho frowned. "But Emily's not even in school yet?"

"And at this rate, we'll have to move to another state to find a school that will take her." She turned back to Hotch. "What's the case like? Is it dangerous?"

Hotch was still feeling off-kilter from the odd direction the conversation had taken, but he tried not to let it show. 

"I assure you, agent, that Mr. Jane would be working for us in a strictly consulting property. There's no need for any field work."

Lisbon snorted. "Yeah, right. Like that's going to happen."

* * *

Hotch tried to focus on the latest lab reports, but he found himself unable to concentrate on the file. He couldn't stop thinking about a conversation he'd had with Jane that morning. Some of the things that the man had said... If Hotch didn't know better, he would have assumed that Jane really was a psychic. What he'd known Hotch and his family had been uncanny. Things that Hotch had never even told his own team. He glanced up from his reading to look at Agent Cho, who was seated across the table from him, engrossed in reading his own file. 

Somehow Jane had managed to arrange it so that both Agent Cho and Agent Lisbon had been assigned to work with BAU during this case. They were good agents, and the team had made some serious progress with the case thanks to them, but their way of working was... not what Hotch and the rest of his team were used to. 

His thoughts were interrupted when the door suddenly slammed open and Reid stalked in, his face set in an angry frown. He was followed by Morgan, who was equally tense, angrily explaining something about lack of empathy. A moment later Jane too entered the room, but unlike the other two men, he was smiling, looking like he didn't have a care in the world. He walked to the couch by the window and lay down. Hoch wasn't sure where the couch had appeared from - it had not been there when they'd set up their temporary HQ.

Hotch stood up and headed towards his agents, his steps quickening as Morgan turned towards Reid, his palms curling into fists.

And as Hotch passed the other desk, only a few seconds before Reid lunged at Morgan, he heard Agent Cho's quiet voice: "Told you."


End file.
